LONDON — Anglo-Irish energy firm Tullow Oil said Wednesday that it expected production at its offshore oil field in Ghana to reach 50,000 barrels per day before the end of this year.

The Jubilee field, discovered three years ago and one of the biggest finds in west Africa of the last decade, is believed to hold about 1.5 billion barrels of reserves.

"Initial production capacity of around 50,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) is expected to be delivered before year-end and production is expected to ramp up to 120,000 bopd over the next three to six months," Tullow said in a statement. Nearby fields Owo and Tweneboa, meanwhile, could contain an additional 1.4 billion barrels of resources.

Tullow added that it had begun studies on these two fields with the aim of starting development in 2012.